The continent is divided between two states: Khota and Veletria. The countries are at odds, but there have been no serious clashes for a long time. The place of armies on both sides was taken by small castes of professional warriors. They are waging a secret war among themselves, almost unnoticeable to other citizens. Hota and Veletria are fighting to create new technologies; steam locomotives, armadillos, and a mechanical piano have already been invented. Engines have already been created - a miracle of technology, self-propelled two-wheeled mechanisms using an internal combustion engine. Spies are slowly stealing technology from each other, spies are caught and executed. This is how this world lives. And only a few feel that a third force has appeared on the horizon. A lot of strange things happen that cannot be explained by the usual machinations of spies. Alas, the day is not far off when the sky will turn black from airships, and the sea from foreign ships. And the Great War will come, which will change the established order...